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Shashank, born on Oct. 14, 1978, was barely nine months old when he was initiated to south Indian classical music, even before he started speaking his mother tongue. As advised by Flute Maestro T.R. Mahalingam, he learnt only vocal music from veteran musicians including Palghat K.V. Narayana Swamy. At his six Shashank picked his father's flute and stunned onlookers by playing, spontaneously, to signal his entry into the flute world. His maiden flute concert was at Adelaide, Australia in Sept 1990 when he was eleven followed by his debut in India on Dec 20, 1990.

He became the youngest musician of the century to have been invited to play the prestigious "SADAS" concert on Jan. 1, 1991 at the Music Academy, Madras. Since then, has been a celebrity flautist world over and performs in the company of top ranking artistes in India and abroad.

Some land mark concerts of his have been Rashtrapathi Bhavan (The President's Palace at New Delhi), Kennedy Center -Washington D.C. , J. Paul Getty Hall -Hollywood, National Academy of Sciences -Washington D.C., Xebec Hall –Kobe, Japan and Across Fukuoka –Fukuoka, Japan, India Music Group at St.Xaviers college -Bombay, UNESCO -Paris, Tropical Institute-Amsterdam, Modigliani Hall-Padova, Italy, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Seoul Plaza, Seoul, Korea, etc

Shashank’s introduction of multi flute transposed fingering technique to merge flutes of different frequencies / lengths to the tonic note (the adhara shadja) – producing deep bass to the shrill sounds gave flute an enviable position in Indian music and has been acclaimed world over by music lovers as his significant/ contribution. "Shashank sings through his flute", "musical wiz kid of the century", "magician flautist" , etc., are some of the often heard critics in the music world. Has numerous awards to his credit including the prestigious title "Kalaimamani" conferred by the Govt. of Tamilnadu.

Shashank has enthralled audiences in India, USA, Canada, UK, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, South Africa, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Shashank's performances feature an extraordinary range of musical expression - from the deepest meditations to youthful fun and astonishing virtuosity. Audiences respond enthusiastically to his flair and unpretentious style. His percussionists add pizzazz to the performances with rhythmic texture that ranges from colorful, sparse punctuation to driving motives that swell to exhilarating levels during solo passages. He has 29 CD albums to his credit apart from two DVDs of his live concerts.

Purbayan, aged thirty, is recognized as one of the highly accomplished sitar players of the younger generation. A representative of the Senia Maihar Gharana, he was initiated into this art by his father Partha Chaterjee, a desiple of the late sitar Maerstro Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Beginning his career at the age of nine, Purbayan is a prolific performer and has won acclaim as a bright star in India and abroad. He has performed in such prestigious venues like South Bank Centre London, Sydney Opera House, Theatre De la Ville (coming up) Paris etc and has been awarded the Presidents Award in 1993. True to his tradition, he combines amazing virtuosity with mature lyricism, reflecting the style of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee in depth, discipline, and exuberance. Purbayan has several records to his credit and his jugalbandhi album with Rasayana (with Shashank) was adjudged as one among the top ten albums by the music magazine SONGLINE. Purbayan continues to learn from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Shirisha Shashank, an eight year old Shirisha (Shiri) stunned onlookers by her spectacular debut Bharathanatyam performance held at Bangalore in 1990. This was the beginning of her bright career in professional dancing. Acclaimed by critics as a very intuitive performer, Shiri is a rising star in the field of Bharathanatyam. Shiri began training at her five under Shyamala Murali and later specialized under Radha Sridhar of Bangalore. During her stint with Radha Sridhar, Shiri acquired skills of performance and won appreciations both as a soloist and also as a major component of over 200 ballet productions. Her grace, swiftness and unique personality have left deep impressions of her talent. Narmada of Bangalore enriched Shiri’s repertoire and helped refinement of her dancing style. A virtuoso, Shiri has also learnt Kuchupudi for a few years from Veena Murthy of Bangalore and vocal music for over 10 years. She has choreographed several dance dramas.

Shiri has enthralled audiences both in India and abroad including UK, USA and the Gulf countries. She has performed in prestigious venues such as Krishna Gana Sabha, Bharat Kalachar, Hampi Utsav, Kadambotsav, Tunga festival, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - London, Surdhwani at Wolverhampton and for Milap at Salford Quays in Manchester, Mexican Heritage Theater - San Jose, Texas Tech- Lubbock, Texas A&T - College Station, to name a few. Her performance in London during April 2005 was in conjunction with the visit of Prince Charles to the Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan where she won the appreciation of the London elites including several luminaries.

An I.C.C.R. sponsored performance tour of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, in 2004, was another success story in her career. Shiri is currently undergoing intensive training under danseuse Priyadarshini Govind and Prof. C.V. Chandrashekar of Chennai. Shiri looks forward to carve a niche for herself in the field of dance.

Happily married to celebrity flautist Shashank, she is out to explore new boundaries in the world of dancing.

SEF's Promotional Video: Sarvendriyanaam, Netram, Pradhanam